


Lost in the Blizzard

by keeperofhounds



Series: The Snow Queen [1]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-07 13:44:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21459016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keeperofhounds/pseuds/keeperofhounds
Summary: Once there was a witch who lived up in the realm of Ice and Snow. There were many legends of her as she was said to lead people astray during blizzards and turn her unfortunate victims into ice statues. She was emotionless and beautiful yet greedy and vain with seemingly limitless power however there was a catch she could only travel to other realms during their winter. When she did this, she would steal anything she could during her winter storms. The keep track of the changing seasons of different realms she used a magic mirror to see if there was anything that could fill the void in her heart.She especially loved children as they were usually the most trusting and innocent of her victims. When they were under her spell, they would follow her every command and they gave their love freely. Children had talents and vulnerabilities that she just loved to enjoy.One day while the Snow Queen was using her mirror, she saw a boy who laughed and did everything in his power to do good. Yet despite his constant failures he continued to invent. As she continued to watch she grew to love him. Until she thought to herself that she had to have him.
Relationships: Quirin & Varian (Disney), Rudiger & Varian (Disney)
Series: The Snow Queen [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1546921
Comments: 19
Kudos: 70





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an au that takes inspiration from the Hans Christian Anderson story titled The Snow Queen. What you are currently reading is only part one of the series. This is my first fanfiction on this website so I hope that people can enjoy this story that I would like the tell and share.

Once upon a time, there lived a woman, we don’t know what her name is or what it was when she was nothing more than a regular woman. For you see her true name has been lost to time through heartbreak and long years of loneliness her story only a small part of a larger story. One of love, adventure, and mysticism. For it was she who created the events that led up to the journey.

  
Depending on where you go around the world the origins of the woman differ some say she was girl cursed with the powers of ice and snow, her powers slowly consuming her until she was nothing but an empty shell. Others call her a demoness from another dimension who takes from our world with the power of her blizzards, striking so suddenly that the lost can never be saved. Others say that she was once a mother who had lost her children during the winter to the elements and driven mad with grief, she lost her life searching for her children in the blizzard. When she finally lost her battle with nature her spirit continued to search for her dead children.

  
While we can never truly know what happened to make the woman of this story there are somethings that we do know. She is a woman whose heart is as cold as ice, with hair as black as night, skin as white as freshly fallen snow, and powers as fierce as the blizzard storms she can conjure. Her powers where so fierce in fact she was unable to ever leave her realm of ice and snow for if she did then she would surely lose her power, no she was most powerful in the winter.

  
Then one day a wizard had appeared in her land, he was a frail and pathetic thing who had always wondered the true fate of those swept away by the blizzards now he knew. When he went to her ice palace looking for shelter the woman said: ‘Tell me stranger do you what happens to those who trespass in my land?’

  
To the wizard the strangest think about the woman was not the power that she exuded but the child who followed her around like a shadow. The child wore rich blue clothes to that of royalty with a crown made of ice like of the Queen's design, although strangely enough, they did not wear shoes. They would talk to the Queen calling her mother and vying for her attention which she gladly gave. However, despite the seemingly warm response from the Queen, the wizard could not help the foreboding feeling in his heart. The wizard replied: ‘No, your majesty I do not for this is a strange and far off land indeed. A land where there seems to be no spring, summer, or autumn only an endless winter. Pray tell what does happen to those who trespass?”

  
‘Men like you who wander into my home have but only two options,’ the Queen pointed out the window where the Wizard spotted what he could only assume were statues. ‘you can either become apart of my garden or,’ she points further away to a beast not quite a horse, ‘you could be a beast who shall pull my carriage.’

  
Neither option sounded appealing to the Wizard to either become an ice statue or a mindless beast forced to trek the endless tundra. That is when he was struck with an idea, knelling down to gain her favor he said: ‘Your majesty my talents would be wasted if I were to become such things but if you allow me I can create for you a window to see beyond your realm of ice and snow to new and more exotic realms.’

  
This caught the Queen's interest no one had ever given her a proposition such as this and while she would never trade her home, she was often curious about the worlds her children often came from. Seeing no reason why she could not humor the Wizard she spared his life with the promise that if he were to create this “portal” she would also give him a way back to his home realm. Once the deal was made the Wizard set off to work.

  
To create his promised object he needed metal, which the Queen pointed him towards a village at the base of the mountain. When he arrived after a day’s journey, he was shocked to find that the residents weren’t human at all. While they spoke and worked like humans such as himself, they were Polar bears. When he told them of his plight and of the deal, he made the chief said: ‘I must warn you stranger take the other options for any gift you give to her will surely be ruined by her own hand.’

  
Put off by the warning the Wizard asked the chief what he meant by that: ‘If you want to truly understand only look at her children.’ The chief would not say anymore but at the man's insistence gave the Wizard the precious metal he asked for to create his gift. As he worked, he kept the chiefs warning in the back of his mind every time a curious child came to watch him work. As their unnaturally blue eyes watched him pound into the metal, they watched as he carved the runes into the metal to create the spell.

  
There was something wrong with the children, but he didn’t care much for them other than himself. If they were lost there was nothing, he could do about their current situation it was even possible that they were living better lives than their previous ones. Even if he wanted to do anything for them the was nothing he could do against the Snow Queen. It was simply not his problem.

  
When the month ended the Wizards, the gift was complete when he presented it to the Queen, she received what looked like a simple silver mirror. He said: ‘To activate this mirror you must only think of what you want to see, and the mirror shall show you what you want to see.’

  
Listening to the man’s instructions, she walked to the new mirror hanging in her throne room she touched its reflective surface and pictured one of the locations her children previously described to her before they decided to stay with her. The reflection rippled and became distorted showing her a forest clearing with different animals that the Queen herself had never seen before. This pleased her greatly it seemed that the man had done exactly what he promised. Now it was her turn to fulfill her end of the deal.  
Walking towards the man she held out her hand and said: ‘Give me the sharpest item in your possession.’

  
Put off and wanting to return home the Wizard gave her his sharpest knife one he used to skin wild game during his travels. Yanking the knife from his hand the Queen gently rubbed her hands against the worn steel covering it with ice using her powers. Once it was completely enveloped the ice broke but in its place was not the same dagger the Wizard had given her. In its place was silver dagger encrusted with blue gems, handing the knife back the Queen said: ‘Only think of where, who, or what you want to go too and slash the air then you shall be able to go home.’

  
The Wizard took the knife gratefully and did what the Queen instructed that was when he found himself home in the little cottage in the woods. There he lived the rest of his day peacefully putting the realm of ice and snow away from his thoughts. Not once did he think of the children he left behind and not once did he think of their fates. The Wizard just simply continued to live his happily ever after.

* * *

  
“Daddy?” Varian asked as he leaned against his father for warmth. He was very put off by the story, it didn’t seem very right with how things ended. The young boy had expected a fight for the Wizard to free the realm from the Snow Queen or even a trick to get the children away, but there was nothing of the sort only one man getting a happy ending.  
Quirin, his father smiled warmly at his son, “What is it, son?” He had just told his son about the story as it was the only thing they could do while the snowstorm was happening outside.

  
“Why did the Wizard do nothing for the children or the people?”

  
“Because he didn’t know how too,” Quirin said. “Personally, I think this story is like the myths about the sun and moon gods’ ways to explain the natural world around us. In this case it explains why there are surprised snowstorms like this and why some people get lost in these storms.”

  
Varian yawned, it was getting very late and the fire in the fireplace was slowly dying down leaving nothing but embers. Yet, Varian tried to put on a brave front for his father he was four years old and he was a big boy. He didn’t need his daddy to carry him to bed.

  
Quirin, on the other hand, knew better, he slowly stood up making Varian face plant onto the cushions of the couch. He put his hands under his son’s armpits and gently lifted him from his seat, sometime between then Varian fell fast asleep his soft breaths ticking against his fathers’ neck. Not wanting to wake his son up Quirin slowly and quietly took Varian to his room where he placed the boy on the bed and tucked him in. After making sure that Varian was fast asleep Quirin brushed a hand over his sons’ forehead and planted a soft kiss on his forehead, “I love you son, sweet dreams.”

* * *

  
It had been ten years since that night, now Varian had grown older but not necessarily wiser. A teenager who spent all his time inventing and working for the good of his village. That isn’t to say that whatever he invented always worked with them oftentimes exploding instead of actually working. These failures did little to curb Varian’s inventive spirit instead pushing him forward to work harder although always after he finished cleaning the mess he made. Currently, this wasn’t one of those times.

  
“So, Ruddiger what do you think about the mirror?” Varian asked as he examined the results of his latest experiment. It was not technically anything new, but the process of making the mirror was fascinating although the cost of the materials actually made the entire endeavored worth it. The only difference to his experiment, when compared to other manufacturers' mirrors, is that he forgoes the mercury amalgam normally used to create the mirror effect. Varian hoped that by using his new method that poorer citizens might be able to afford mirrors rather than only the rich fellows.

  
Ruddiger chittered at his friend’s newest creation being captivated by the raccoon trapped within. No matter where he went the strange raccoon followed and when he went to greet the stranger, he still couldn’t reach them. To say that Ruddiger was impressed would be a lie despite Varian’s denial the mirror really was something of magic. It was a nice break from the black rocks that normally took the boy's time.

  
Ever since Varian came from the science expo (and Ruddiger was properly introduced to Rapunzel and Cassandra) he had been spending his time searching for a solution for the rocks plaguing his village. Answers were not coming easily to the boy as they seemed impervious to tampering but that did not stop Varian from at least obtaining information. Right now, he had the chemical makeup of the rocks which he was confident that no one else in all of Corona had. While he would normally be over the moon and inform his father of the results, he promised the princess to keep any information about them to himself.

  
Although in recent weeks the promise itself seemed very pointless when factoring in the amount of trouble they were causing, destroying homes, ruining crop yields, even disrupting trade between villages. While this was normal in Old Corona (except the disrupted trade) with Varian as a resident for such damage to not be caused by the leader’s child was just unusual. These rocks couldn’t be cleaned up, destroyed, or removed which was a massive change for the residents.

  
When thinking of all this it was only natural that Varian tries to curb his more ambitious projects if only to save people the stress if they go wrong. It was sort of strange to him that he wasn’t the cause of so much destruction considering that it seems to be naturally forming. That was his first hypothesis anyway until he saw the rocks react to the princess more specifically her hair.

  
Ruddiger chittered bringing Varian back from his thoughts about the rocks. The mirror was supposed to be a break for him nothing serious or messy but enough to take his mind off the current problem. He thought that by giving himself a break he could think up fresh and new ideas in dealing with the problem. The only reason why he thought to make a mirror was because of how one could see their reflection off the rocks. It was silly he knew but it was better than nothing.

  
Looking at the clock Varian realized how late it really was he should have been in bed hours ago. Placing a blanket over the mirror he gently hulled it to his room with Ruddiger close behind him, the mirror wasn’t very heavy but the size of it made it awkward to carry around but at least anyone looking at it would be able to see their entire body. Varian placed it next to all the other experiments and inventions around his bed being mindful of the delicate piece. Once he was satisfied with its placement, he turned to get ready for bed.

* * *

  
Varian did not know how he found himself in the middle of a snowy wood. One minute he had nodded off in the warm confines of his bed with Ruddiger and suddenly he was in the middle of nowhere seemingly lost. He shivered as the cool breeze bit into his bones running through his thin pajamas causing him to wildly to look around for any possible shelter. There was none. It also did not help that he was forced to walk barefoot in the snow causing him all sorts of pain and discomfort, he hoped that he was able to avoid frostbite. Hands wrapped around him, he turned to figure out the best direction he could go.

  
His surroundings gave Varian an eerie feeling, no forest should ever be so quiet and still. Yet this is where he found himself, there was no sound of animals foraging for food. There were no winter birds filling the silence with their wild songs. It was as if time itself was standing still throughout the area. That’s when he heard it, the song.   
It was a beautiful song the likes of which Varian had never heard before. It filled the eerie silence with a charm that Varian could not ever hope to describe filling his very being with a want to find the origin of the music. feel a wave of emotions all at once. Happiness, sadness, he wanted to try and laugh at the same time these emotions were so strong that Varian forgets the bitter cold. He wanted to know who was playing such wonderful music.  
Trudging through deep snow Varian followed the music as the snow crunched under his bare feet. As he followed the music Varian looked at his surroundings other than the music there was no life in sight although that was to be expected of the weather. The trees were nothing of likes he had ever seen before looking as if they themselves were made of ice. While others looked of simple pine with the green of their needles clashing with the white of the snow. That is when Varian saw a break in the woods.  
Eyes widening in excitement Varian dashed towards the clearing, but not before stopping himself and shyly hiding behind a pine tree. He could not understand what was happening to him normally he could confidently walk up and greet anyone he set his mind to. He did it to Cassandra. He did it to princess Rapunzel. Yet why did this woman make him feel so strange and childish?

  
The woman delicately strummed her crystal harp making the strings strum softly, it was the most magical thing Varian had ever heard. She was seated in what he could only describe as a bench made of ice under a gazebo also made of ice. The woman herself looked like she would be royalty with her skin as white as snow, and hair as dark as night her clothes looked extravagant and very expensive with a white glittering dress under an icy blue cloak. Varian gulped nervously he wanted to greet her so much so that he gathered himself and took a step towards her.

  
CRUNCH!

  
Varian winced somehow stepping through the snow was too loud overpowering the soft music produced by the woman with the harp. He ducked his head in shame as the music came to an abrupt halt at his intrusion, he hadn’t wanted to upset this stranger by ruining her song. However, to his surprise there was no annoyance or reprimand at his intrusion only worry at his current state, “My poor child,” she said walking towards him, “look how cold you are! Come sit with me here so that I may keep you warm and so that you may continue listening to my music.”

  
Varian’s heart lifted at her words and while he did not quite understand what she meant about the cold he timidly walked towards the bench. As he walked the woman resumed her playing never giving him much mind even when he leaned against her shoulder in fact, she encouraged his behavior stating that being close to her would only make him feel warmer. He was feeling very warm and comfortable now.

  
While he listened, the woman introduced herself to him, “My child I am the queen of this domain but to all my subject I am known as the Snow Queen and who might you be?” At first, Varian tried to remember what his father taught him about giving his name to strangers before he rationalized that as she already gave him her name it was only polite to give her his. He did this and more answering her questions with complete honesty. She got him to tell her about his life in Old Corona and all the inventions he made even the ones that exploded. She seemed especially interested in him which he didn’t mind as he hardly had such attention from any adult let alone his own father. Suddenly he let out a yawn, his eyes felt very heavy all of a sudden.

  
As he tried to keep himself awake the Queen abandoned her harp, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. “Shhh, you must be very tired now.” She softly petted Varian hair combing her fingers gently through individual strands. “Varian did you like your visit with me?”

  
“Yes, I did very much I loved it,” Varian said snuggling into her mantle.

  
It seemed to be the answer the Queen was looking for because she hugged him harder, “Good because I would love for you come again, visit my lovely home, maybe get something warm for you to eat and drink.”

  
Varian nodded against her shoulder to visit her again would be a great opportunity for him. He gave her his word that he would do just that the next night before finally losing his battle to sleep. As he slept the Queen continued to pet his hair.

  
Ruddiger couldn’t believe his eyes when it happened one minute his boy was sleeping peacefully under the covers of his bed before an eerie song was heard. At first, the raccoon thought that he was only imagining the song as there was no way such a thing could ever happen in his boys’ own room. That’s when Varian moved, but even then Ruddiger did not believe that Varian was in much control over his actions at the time. As the music filled the Varian began to stir in what Ruddiger could only assume was an annoyance at the music.

  
When Varian got off his bed Ruddiger simply watched as the boy walked towards his new mirror. Now that Ruddiger knew what he knew now it should have been obvious that something was amiss, even when the boilers were underground causing havoc Varian was still able to sleep through the night. There should have been no possible way that soft music would have awoken Varian from his sleep. His first clue of something amiss was Varian’s movement, walking as if he was being led by someone or something towards the mirror.

  
He assumed that is was the dark as humans did not have the same things raccoons as he had which was night vision. It was when he saw Varian’s reflection in the mirror that the raccoon panicked, his eyes were glowing but with none of the warmth, they looked to be in a haze, blanker than paper. When the boy started to walk into the mirror that’s when Ruddiger dashed towards his friend, while he had little idea of what Varian did, he did know that a mirror shouldn’t do that. However, he was too late to follow Varian through as Ruddiger got a pain in his head for all his trouble.

  
That is when he was presented with a choice, he could go to the boy’s father and try to tell him what happened to his only son. While Ruddiger was confident in his ability to communicate with humans he doubted that even he could describe what happened to a man with such a seemingly low opinion of him. The other was to wait until Varian came back because that was all he could hope for, hope that his boy was okay and that he wasn’t hurt or in pain wherever he was spirited away too. After what felt like hours the mirror started to change creating ripples and distortions on the reflection.

  
The first thing that came out was a familiar arm, then a familiar leg this continued until Varian was back in his room. Ruddiger chittered in relief and excitement his boy was safe and that what mattered to him, yet there was something different about him the raccoon didn’t know what, but he felt that Varian wasn’t the same. The raccoon tried to get Varian’s attention, but the boy ignored him instead of heading straight to his bed and burying himself under the covers. Ruddiger followed jumping onto the bed and snuggling into his boy, fast asleep as he should be and most importantly safe. 

* * *

  
Meanwhile the Snow Queen had enjoyed the time she spent with her brand-new treasure the boy was everything she loved in children. His eyes were just her favorite color matching the blue ice often found in glaciers, yet they held such warmth and wonder for the world. She loved the splash of freckles on his face, and his dark soft hair which fell over his forehead. What she especially loved about the boy however was the amount of love he put into everything.

  
She had watched him for a very long time although she would admit that she became interested in him after the first few failures of his inventions. What made her continue observing was the love she saw Varian put into his work just by seeing him continue working with alchemy. Even while watching the boy she noticed that he was always alone working in his lab. When he would talk to his little pet he would talk about his inventions and how they work as if it could answer back to him.

  
Varian practically projected all of his emotions, the utter want for approval from his father and the other villagers. The admiration for the former thief that saved a princess and a woman who wouldn’t pay attention to him until he impressed her. The boy has wasted with all those people none of them gave him what he wanted or needed, in fact, they never seemed to do anything with him unless he initiated the interaction.

  
The Snow Queen wanted that; she wanted those eyes on her she wanted to feel the boy’s admiration on her as she could do everything for him. She wanted him to pay attention to her. Ever since she got her mirror the Queen could afford to be pickier with the children she took under her care before she had the mirror it was always a chore to wait for a blizzard the weaken the lines between their realm and her realm. She wouldn’t always make it in time and often times the children froze before they went into her realm it was a shame, but it was a reality that she accepted. They wouldn’t have survived long anyway.

  
There was no doubt in Varian’s ability though, she could just tell that he would be her most valuable treasure.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you readers know I added more in chapter one so you should probably check it out.

When Varian woke up the next day, he felt different, he couldn’t describe what he was feeling only that there was a ringing in his ears. The dream with the music and the woman had felt so real for him yet so magical, but he put the thought to the side something so perfect couldn’t be anything but a dream. Looking out the window he spotted his dad already starting to get to work in the fields that meant Varian should start getting ready for the day. While many would think he spent all his time in the lab it was a misconception he had responsibilities just like everyone else.

  
Every day he had to take care of the housework this meant cleaning the house, washing the dishes and making sure there was enough food for the next day. When he did finish all his chores then he could go to his lab and experiment with his heart's content that was the arrangement between him and his father. He felt a weight come over his shoulder, it was Ruddiger. “Okay Ruddiger looks like we’re going get busy.” Ruddiger chittered as if in agreement.

  
Thus, the next few hours were spent doing chores around the house with a bit of alchemy in the mix since his house was more of a small castle if anything. If he didn’t then it would take him hours to get anything done so the most efficient way was his way. Although for some reason Ruddiger didn’t seem to want to leave his perch around Varian’s shoulders he tried several times to encourage the raccoon to do something else, but he seemed adamant at staying by the boy’s side. Varian gave the raccoon a good scratch on the head for all his trouble.

  
The last thing for him to do was clean up the windows then it would be alchemy time that task was always the most boring of the bunch. As he mindlessly wiped the windows, he couldn’t help but think of the dream he had last night and the beautiful music that came with it. The song had been playing in his head all morning giving Varian the urge to hum to the music. As he went to the other window, he hummed to his heart's content feeling more liberated than he had ever been. Suddenly she saw a face in the reflection of the window that was not his own, Varian narrowed his eyes and leaned forward to get a closer look it looked li-

  
“Owe!” Varian cried. “Ruddiger did you just bite me? Bad raccoon!” Varian held his cheek against his gloved hand while the raccoon leaped off his shoulders and growled at the window. Varian couldn’t understand what had gotten into the little fella they were on the second floor there was no reason why Ruddiger would act the way he did. In all the time Varian had known his friend the raccoon had never intentionally harmed him. Taking a deep breath Varian decided to push the strange behavior aside for now. It was the last window anyway, so Varian was finally free to work on his alchemy.

  
“Okay, what to do,” Varian said, staring down at his calculations. “the rocks seem to be growing at an unprecedented rate soon they might actually start to overtake the village.” He turned towards the mass of those same rocks that appeared in his lab one minute there was nothing next the rocks sprouted like destructive weeds. Varian hadn’t told his father about this development as he seemed to be seriously disturbed by the appearance of the rocks. The boy didn’t want to add any more to his dad’s stress.

  
“Alright, I know what to do,” Varian said, walking towards the black rocks. He lightly touched the tips being careful not to injure himself they were sharp after all it seemed that his newly rebuilt machine might be able to come in handy this time. After the princess first visited his house Varian cleaned up the village and helped fix all the damage caused by his boilers. That included fixing the machine he used to try analyzing Rapunzel’s hair and the machine needed to understand the results. These were easy fixes especially when he had the blueprints to rebuild them and he made them even better. At the very least he can obtain information on their chemical makeup.

  
Placing both machines was difficult, to say the least after all it’s not like he could separate a sample of the rocks and attach them to the machine they were indestructible. Now that the machine was running with the printer a safe distance away all Varian could do was sit and wait for it all eighty-six tests to be over with. As Varian was seated Ruddiger scampered onto his lap the little rascal wanted to keep Varian company.

  
Varian yawned; he hadn’t realized how tired he was maybe it would do him some good to take a nap while the machine was doing its work. Stretching his arms out Varian was careful in not knocking his friend over. Taking a deep breath Varian relaxed letting sleep overtake him.

* * *

  
As Varian relaxed to take a nap Ruddiger kept a close eye on him despite the boy’s staring at him with a worried expression despite thoughts he wasn’t looking so great. All throughout the night, the alchemist's body temperature had refused to rise despite the raccoon’s best efforts even when Varian was under the warm sheets. While Ruddiger knew very little about the human body he at least understood that humans were similar to raccoons in the sense that they are warm-blooded.

  
This is why he chose to stay close to Varian the entire time, he wanted to make sure the boy wouldn’t pass out from whatever he was going through. If that did happen then Ruddiger would at least be there to get help for his boy. He watched Varian closely throughout the chores at one point he even heard that retched song hummed by Varian. While it was normal for Varian to do this while busy, he didn’t like the look that was in Varian’s eyes as he hummed the song. They looked far away as if he was looking through the surroundings rather than at them when Varian went to start on the windows that were when Ruddiger saw it.

  
At first, he thought nothing of it but then Varian leaned closer to the window squinting his eyes at the image in the window. What Ruddiger saw made his fur stand on end, the woman looked monstrous with blue skin as if she was frost-bitten with sickly white hair. There was nothing human about her and he didn’t like the way she was looking at Varian even then she shouldn’t have been watching him at all. Ruddiger chittered at Varian lightly slapping his paw over his friend’s cheek but there was no reaction from the boy. The raccoon moved to dig his claws at Varian’s clothes still nothing Ruddiger chittered worriedly looking at the image in the window and steeling himself at what he was about to do.

  
CHOMP!

  
“Owe!” Varian cried. “Ruddiger did you just bite me? Bad raccoon!” Varian said as he clutched his cheek with a gloved hand. Ruddiger who ignored the boy as he didn’t believe that the bite was that hard jumped off his shoulders. He landed on the edge of the window and growled at the reflection challengingly he still didn’t know what that woman was, but he wasn’t going to allow her to have anything to do with his friend. The woman didn’t seem to pay much mind to the raccoon’s threat through simply vanishing from the reflection of the window.

  
Ruddiger narrowed his eyes on the now faceless window before following Varian to the lab it had been the last window that needed cleaning anyway. Running along the furniture Ruddiger watched as Varian thought to himself aloud it was a common thing the raccoon saw his friend do which he thought was endearing especially since it was obvious to him how passionate Varian was about his work. He watched as Varian set up his new machine next to the cluster of rocks that sprouted in his lab when Varian yawned Ruddiger could only assume the events of last night had caught up to him. When Varian fell asleep on the chair Ruddiger watched the machine do its work with Varian asleep it was up to him to watch the machines progress then wake Varian up when the machine was finished, at least if Varian wasn’t awakened by the machines bell.

  
DING!

  
Finally, it was over the machine was finished with all of its tests, although at this point Ruddiger was expecting Varian to scrap the machine now. Similar to Rapunzel’s hair the rocks were indestructible which meant that a lot of things used by the machine were either shattered or broken. The hacksaw, the hammer, the claws used to stretch things and anything that involved moving the rocks the raccoon was surprised at the fact the noise didn’t seem to wake up Varian. He only hoped that the sleep was doing Varian some good adding to the sleep he would get later tonight if all went well.

  
Although now wasn’t the time to think about that as Varian’s lab assistance Ruddiger had a duty that Varian trusted him to fulfill and this meant informing his sleeping master alchemist that the machine's job was finished. Climbing along the boy's shoulders he lightly pawed at Varian’s face to awaken his friend, nothing. Seeing how that didn’t work out he decided to give his friend some kisses, he always liked it when Ruddiger did that making that laughing sound that Ruddiger loved so much.

  
“Stop Ruddiger.” Varian mumbled. “That tickles.” Varian was refusing to get up but at least Ruddiger was halfway finished in getting his friend up. Jumping off the boy's shoulders the raccoon walked a little bit away from the alchemist and the chair once he felt far away enough Ruddiger took a running start. He ran ounce being he was a few feet away from his friend Ruddiger crouched and jumped as high as he could aiming towards the unguarded boy. Varian who was unaware of this had no time to protect his stomach once he had the air knocked out of him.

  
CRASH!

* * *

  
Varian was unprepared for the onslaught that comes from Ruddiger who with his charge had knocked both himself and the chair over. The alchemist was just glad that it was too early for his dad to be home or else he would be coming to check on what was causing all the racket and see the machine attached to the rocks. It wouldn’t take much for the older man to put two and two together and realize what Varian was doing without his consent or supervision. Feeling movement on his chest Varian lifted his head to see the smiling face of Ruddiger bumping his head over Varian’s face in greeting.

  
Lowering his head to the ground Varian groaned, “Why would you do that?” Ruddiger didn’t answer instead darting off his chest and scampering toward the machine. It wasn’t like Varian was expecting an answer, but he picked himself up and followed the clearly excited raccoon. When he got to his machine, he whistled at the damage it was one thing to hypothesize their indestructible nature and another to have it confirmed.

  
“Fascinating,” Varian said leaning towards the rocks. “they show no structural damage no scratches, cracks, dents, not even wear its as if the rocks haven’t been attacked at all.”  
While it was fascinating it was also worrying if the rocks couldn’t be damaged then there was no known way to clear them out. This would mean that any damage caused by them in the roads, buildings, and fields would be permanent which meant that the only solution was to move. Varian, however, scoffed at the very idea there was nothing natural about these rocks they simply sprout way to fast to be naturally occurring and with how they are spreading it was very obvious to Varian that simply moving wouldn’t be enough. 

  
Their direction was clear they were heading towards the capital and there was very little anyone could do to stop it at this rate. If that happened more people would be displaced and if what he had observed from the crop fields there would be very little food to support any life within the land. Walking over to the press Varian kneeled and ripped the already printed results from the machine looking over the results its chemical makeup was nothing he had ever seen before being almost otherworldly in nature. However, it at least comforted Varian that all but one of the results were familiar substances on earth. The thing, however, was unknown.

  
It didn’t seem to play an important part in the structure of the rocks but based on the results it might have had something to do with how the rocks were able to form so quickly. Although despite the added questions to this mystery it was progress that Varian didn’t have before which was good progress all things considered. Now that he knew what the rocks were made of, he could move on to the experimental phase of trying to eradicate the rocks. Even if he couldn’t stop the rocks from growing, he could at least find a way to deal with them.

  
RING! RING! RING!

  
It was the clock showing that it was just about time for Varian to start preparing dinner, he hadn’t realized how late it was or even how long his nap had been. This didn’t normally happen, but Varian just assumed that the chair was extra comfy that day never realizing how truly tired he was. Seeing Ruddiger rub himself on Varian’s legs he picked up the raccoon carrying the animal like a baby. “Maybe we can have a nice warm soup, what do you think Ruddiger?” The raccoon chittered in agreement it seemed that was the plan for dinner.

* * *

  
The dream was happening again, Varian had found himself laying peacefully in a bed made of what liked solid crystal with blankets and the mattress being nothing but furs from various animals. The light bounced off the crystal giving the room a rainbow hue to it that’s when he noticed that the room made of the same material as the bed itself. Getting out of bed Varian admired the craftsmanship put into everything the furniture, the bed, even the doors. Varian had heard of such feats of art within the northern countries but to actually see something like it took his breathe away, it left him utterly speechless.

  
The sound of muffled music filled the empty air of the room causing Varian to perk up at the sound, it was the music from last time. Grabbing the handle Varian turned the door almost expecting it to be locked but it pushed open every easily making very little noise. He assumed that the ice wouldn’t cause a noise like iron would but now wasn’t the time to think about silly things, he had to find the source of the music.

  
As Varian followed the music, he couldn’t help but look at the building he was in seeing all the intricate designs and he assumed that a lot of effort and love was put in creating this ice palace. He never once questioned how he came to such a place because to him it was obvious, it was nothing more than a dream and good things happened in dreams. It was probably why he didn’t feel the cold despite wearing such thin clothes or got frostbite without wearing shoes. A dream made much more sense than anything else.

  
A door stood in his path with what he could only assume laid the source of the music taking a deep breath Varian lifted his hands and pushed the door open. Beyond the doors sat the Queen with the crystal harp from last time strumming the strings without a care in the world. She was inside what Varian assumed was the dining hall in her castle with a grand table filled to the brim with many different treats each looking and smelling more delicious than the last. Not wanting to interrupt her song Varian silently walked towards her before sitting down cross-legged on the floor. 

  
He waited for what felt like hours although it could have easily been only minutes once the Queen finished her song Varian sprang up to his feet and started clapping. “That was the most beautiful song I’ve ever seen your Majesty.”

  
The Queen smiled sweetly as Varian walking towards him and wrapping her arms around him with Varian wrapping his around her in turn. He was a lot shorter than her, so she needed to kneel in order to properly hug him, not that Varian minded her hugs were the best. Brushing her hands over his face the Queen's smile turned into a frown causing Varian to wonder what he did to upset her. “What’s wrong your Majesty? Did I do something wrong?”

  
“No, no you did nothing wrong treasure.” The Queen said, in a worried voice. “But you look cold have you eaten or drunk anything warm?”

  
Thinking back the soup Varian had for dinner wasn’t as warm as it could have been there was something that he felt was missing. Although the alchemist only assumed, he was having an off day or maybe the groceries were different than usual. Although despite this Varian didn’t want to inconvenience his hostess, “Yes, your Majesty I had soup at home, and it was just warm enough.”

  
“Even so,” The Queen said. “It is awfully cold here maybe putting some food in you might make you feel warmer and welcomed in my home.” She placed her hands over his shoulders and led him toward one of the seats in the dining table, gently leading him to sit down. Now sitting just within inches of the food Varian was assaulted by their fragrance it was nothing like he had ever smelt before. 

  
Watching the Queen, she took a pot and poured it into one of the goblets like everything else it was made of crystal. A brown liquid that Varian could only assume was hot chocolate was poured into the cup right until the brim. The Queen handed the cup to Varian with a smile, “Well come now at least try my hot chocolate I promise you it’s nothing you’ve ever tried before you’ll love it.”

  
Looking at the cup and how the steam flew from it made Varian realize how cold it was in this castle. He felt the light chills in the air and felt the ice on his feet, perhaps having a drink would make it all better. Varian felt a lot better after taking a sip from the goblet it warmed him to his very toes and it was nothing he had ever tasted before. The taste was creamy, foamy and rich it was beyond any hot chocolate he had ever had before. Looking at all the other foods on the table Varian could only wonder what they tasted.

* * *

  
Ruddiger screeched as his ringed tail was pulled by a seemingly invisible force, he used his nails to try to stop the force from dragging him away from Varian, but it was no use since the floor was made of literal ice. When he had heard the strange music for the second time that week the raccoon was quick to follow Varian going so far as to climb the boy’s shoulders. For one reason or another Varian paid no attention to him raising many concerns for the animal.

  
Once they passed through the mirror Ruddiger was hit with a bitter cold worried about his friend the animal maneuvered to look at his boy’s face. Yet, when he looked at the alchemist’s face there was no reaction to the sudden in temperature it was still as slack and peaceful as he was asleep. It was a haunting expression on his friend’s face.  
“You shouldn’t be here.” A voice said, coolly. “I didn’t call for you.”

  
Looking at the source of the voice Ruddiger raised his head squawking at who he saw, it was the woman from the window. She was just as monstrous as he had last seen her the only difference was, his eyes now that the raccoon could look at her clearly her eyes were cold and unfeeling. He glared at the woman how dare she takes Varian from his home for her purposes, how dare she says he wasn’t welcome when she has bewitched his friend. “Then release my friend so that we may both go!” Ruddiger said. “I would never let a witch touch a single hair of my boy!”

  
The noise from his mouth sounded strange which caused him to wrap his paws around his throat, he had never made such noises before. He looked toward the Witch as it seemed very clear that she had something to do with his sudden ability to talk. The Witch instead paid him little mind raising her hand then dropping it.  
A great gust of wind engulfs the raccoon forcefully separating the boy and the raccoon, he could nothing as he saw the Witch carry his friend to an unknown room as he was dragged away. Now the raccoon gripped a corner of the hall feeling the hairs of his tail being pulled off, it didn’t matter too much he only wanted Varian safe. “Let me go!” he cried.

  
Giggling answered his cries doing nothing to lessen their grip instead of pulling harder. That’s when he felt a sudden pull and pain, he slipped onto the icy floor the pain in his tail was intense. Moving the tail towards his face he saw patches in areas that once help fur, seeing his chance Ruddiger dashed towards the area from where he last saw Varian. Once he made it to the room, he placed his nose towards the ground trying very hard to ignore the cold sting.

  
Ruddiger caught the familiar smell of chemicals and apples excited the raccoon dashed forwards slipping on the ice a few times. After a few minutes, he found himself in front of a set of crystal doors that is were Varian should be, crouching low he jumped onto the handle of the door slowly turning it open. As soon as the door opened a crack he dashed through the door before anything could stop him. There he found his friend seated in a table eating contently.

  
“Varian!” Ruddiger cried, rushing towards the seated boy. “I was so worried for we need to leave before that witch comes back.”  
Swallowing food Varian gave Ruddiger a strange look but not before standing up and running excitedly towards the raccoon. He picked up the raccoon and gave him a big hug, Ruddiger shivered at the contact Varian was colder than he was original. “You can talk? Now I know I’m dreaming.”

  
He almost slapped himself, of course, Varian would assume it was all a dream, he was a literal talking raccoon with a boy who made it his life’s mission to disprove the existence of magic. “It doesn’t matter we need to leave now!”

  
Varian tilted his head I confusion, “Leave why? Everything is great here especially the Queen she’s so nice.”

  
That statement made Ruddiger freeze if the queen Varian was referring to be the witch that he met then Ruddiger would have to be careful. Something in his eyes must have shone through because with some hesitation Varian agreed to go with Ruddiger. Even if it was just a dream version of his friend, he was still Varian’s friend. 

  
Leading the way towards the throne room Ruddiger made sure to always stay by his friends’ side fearful of losing him to the Witch. Once they made it through the frozen doors Ruddiger stiffened at the regal figure seated on the crystal throne, it was her the witch. Ruddiger gave her a glare daring her to try anything to both him and the alchemist. Instead she ignored his very presence.

  
“Are you leaving already treasure?” The Witch said. “I was so very hoping you would stay longer.”

  
Ruddiger growled but before he could say anything Varian spoke up first, “Yeah, Ruddiger is getting pretty cold but I’ll come back next time your Majesty.”  
The blue-skinned creature smiled at his friend before nodding her head as if to give him permission to leave. Once both human and raccoon were through the mirror Ruddiger snuck a peek on the reflection. What he saw made him freeze the look in her eyes confided utter loathing for him as if he was at fault for taking Varian away. Ruddiger kept his glare from his perch on the boy's shoulder he would not show weakness to that witch.

  
As Varian in a moved toward his bed he made sure to wait until his friend was fast asleep. Seeing the world on the other side of the mirror, seeing the mysterious forces at work Ruddiger made his decision. Even if Varian believed it was all a dream if he didn’t do something to keep Varian away from that witch then he knows something terrible would happen. These thoughts are what made Ruddiger’s next actions simple. 


	3. Chapter 3

It took a few seconds for the crash of shattered glass to catch up to Varian’s muddled psyche although the sudden noise did make him jumps a few feet in his bed from fright. Scrambling towards the noise he also heard the sound of stomping footsteps racing towards his room. Not wanting his father to see what caused any damage Varian tried to get off his bed, but he couldn’t find the energy. As soon as his feet touched the floor the alchemist felt a wave run over him causing the room to move precariously.

  
The door to his room swung open, “Varian? What happened what caused that noise?” His dad had come in wearing his nightclothes and wielding a sword poised to strike. Varian shook his head, first talking raccoons and now sword-wielding dads he must still be dreaming. Looking around he found the cause for all this commotion now Varian was very glad he hadn’t moved too far from his bed; the glass was everywhere. 

  
No longer leaning against the wall the mirror spent hours creating laid on the ground with the expected culprit right beside it if Ruddiger’s expression was anything to go by. Varian took a breath he wasn’t angry he was disappointed he should have known better than to put something as fragile as a mirror where a raccoon could get it. Although normally the animal was so careful with Varian’s stuff how could he knock over the mirror?

  
Ruddiger seemed to choose to ignore the stares from his friend and Quirin instead of scampering up to Varian’s bed and forcefully snuggling himself to the boy. Varian stole a glance to his father who sighed in relief it wasn’t a burglar breaking into the castle from Varian’s room or anything caused by an experiment gone wrong. It had just been an accident caused by the boy’s pet. Before Quirin could comment however Varian was already moving past him and out of his room having already pulled some boots on. “Don’t worry dad I’ll clean this up!”

  
The raccoon chose to stay by Varian’s side by riding his son’s shoulders which would be fine if it wasn’t rewarding the behavior. Although Quirin had very little room to talk as he himself did very little to curb his own son's more destructive tendencies. As soon as Varian came back with the broom, he started to sweep up the shards taking care to not miss any of the smaller pieces. As he continued to sweep Varian failed to notice the look in his father’s eyes.   
“Well if that’s all then goodnight Varian.” His dad said.

  
“Night dad.”

  
Hearing the door to his room close Varian continued to gather the shards of glass there were some under his bed and others between the floorboards. By the time he was confident that he had cleaned the mess in its entirety the bucket he was using to keep the glass in was full, “I guess I can find some use for this.” Varian said while he was disappointed the broken mirror at least gave him a new idea, maybe shatter-resistant glass. When he had the time, he would find a solution to that.

  
Laying in bed the alchemist hugged the raccoon to his chest, “You always find a way to keep me on my toes don’t you buddy?” The raccoon chittered shivering a bit before taking a bite on the covers and burying both of them further under them. Varian laughed feeling a warm feeling grow inside him Varian was the best friend he could ever ask for even if he did go around breaking things. Then again that’s what made Ruddiger so perfect so maybe they can do that together next time.

* * *

  
The next night Ruddiger watched Varian sleep while he was confident there was no way the witch would be able to bring harm to his friend, he wanted to make sure that he was safe. The raccoon had little idea of what the witch was truly capable of, but he had seen bewitching magic, magic wind, and mirror portals to magical lands Ruddiger was not leaving anything to chance. Multiple times he tried to tell Varian what happen, but it was hopeless he thought everything was a dream and he couldn’t speak outside of the mirror. Although given how Varian was, he doubted he would accept any other explanation than a scientific one.

  
Ruddiger yawned ever since he became friends with Varian, he no longer stayed awake at night preferring to spend time with Varian during the day. He really wanted to sleep but he shook himself awake to fight it, just when he was about to lose his battle, he heard the sound of howling, and beating hooves. Looking out the window Ruddiger discovered the miscalculation on his part, the black rocks where big and they were reflective. In a haunting sonata, he heard the notes of the witch’s harp escape from the strange rocks causing the animals nearby to be frightened and disturbed.

  
With every note played a column of them would glow before dying out it was like the glow was searching for something or in this case someone. As each glow died down so did the animal’s cries until eventually the sound could no longer be heard outside. Ruddiger stole a glance at Varian, he was still asleep it looked like the music couldn’t reach his room. Just when Ruddiger was going to sigh in relief the music started again this time closer and inside the house. The raccoon’s heart sank he had forgotten about the cluster in Varian’s lab.

  
Once the music reached Varian’s ears his closed opened just a crack before he slowly got off the bed. Walking away from the bed he headed for the door all the time with Ruddiger trying to wake him up thinking fast Ruddiger dashed over to Quirin’s room a big man would be able to bring his own son's senses back. When he reached the room, he did everything in his power to wake up the man, but he was dead to the world. Thinking back the man never did hear the music the nights before of course, he would be under a similar spell.

  
Dashing back to Varian the raccoon hoped that he wasn’t too late to save his friend from the witch’s clutches. He just knew that if she got his boy now then she would never let him return as his friend he wouldn’t let that happen. He had seen Varian in his village and how happy he was in his current life, the Varian he saw while in the mirror was a pale shadow of himself. Varian was walking into the tunnels under the house.

  
It was now or never for the little raccoon he had to find a way to stop his friend from going through the rock’s reflection. That’s when it hit him Varian had mentioned during his experiment with the mirror (as raccoons while unable to speak made good listeners) that mirrors reflected because they catch the light and throw it back if he could stop the reflecting then Varian wouldn’t be able to go through. In the hidden lab, there was only one thing Ruddiger could think that would work, he had it used on him plenty of times. Time was running out Varian was just within reach of the rocks.

  
Jumping on the table, gathering as many alchemy balls as his little hands could carry Ruddiger threw as many as he could at his targets. The balls hit their marks exploding in a mess of purple smoke filling the air with the smoke and scent of chemicals, to Ruddiger it would all be worth it if he was correct. Not only had they hit the cluster of rocks, but they had also hit Varian trapping him in place preventing him from getting any closer. The rocks on the other hand slowly but surely lose their power slowly dimming as the music faded.

  
“Ruddiger?” Varian said, rubbing his head looking perplexed by his current situation. “What happened how did I get here?”  
Ruddiger chittered happily that he now knew a sure-fire way to protect his friend every night from the witch. Climbing onto Varian’s shoulder he nuzzled the confused boy with all the warmth he was willing to give goodness knew the human needed it.

  
Varian laughed. “That tickles buddy.”

  
Yes, it was a good night for Ruddiger because he succeeded in protecting his friend from the lying witch.

* * *

  
A few weeks had passed since then. On that day he found himself glued to the floor of his lab unable to remember how he got there he noticed his raccoon’s strange behavior. When he tried to clean the mess as soon as he attempted to clean the rocks his friend would snap and growl at his attempts only stopping when Varian back down. It was only until the next day that Ruddiger allowed anything to happen to the glue covering the rocks and even then, Varian always found them covered again the next morning.

  
Ruddiger was acting strange but Varian but little mind to it as Varian himself had done worse chalking it up to his friend being a mischievous sort of feral animal. Although Ruddiger’s behavior was the least of Varian’s worries he couldn’t understand what was going on with himself either for it was like one day he could see the world in color and the next seeing nothing but grey. He couldn’t find the strength or motivation to do any of the housework and worse, yet he couldn’t find the motivation to do any alchemy. Normally finding the drive to do anything of the sort was as simple as getting up and just doing it but now nothing. He also couldn’t help but think about the woman in his dreams.

  
The woman with the alluring white skin and the gleaming black hair. He couldn’t stop thinking about her bewitching music oftentimes finding himself humming the tune before being interrupted by Ruddiger. Varian couldn’t understand what his issue was with the song, but he tried to keep it to himself if only to stop the raccoon from jumping on him in the most inopportune times. He even couldn’t even stop thinking about the food she gave him being so enriching and mouthwatering to the point he started to salivate.

  
He wasn’t dreaming about her anymore and he found himself missing her for it which he found weird since she’s just a creation of his subconscious mind nothing real about her. Despite those thoughts, he still couldn’t stop himself from thinking about her for hours on end. Even the food at home didn’t have the same appeal to it as the food she gave him, there was a quality to her food that no one could replicate. Varian wondered if going to sleep would do any good for his lack of focus may be sleeping or dreaming would bring back his adventurous spirit.

  
Ruddiger would try many times to get him out of bed to seize the day but he couldn’t find the energy to do even that. No matter how harshly Ruddiger tugged the blankets off the bed Varian would lay there. No matter how often the raccoon would jump on top of him Varian would not move. Not even nipping at the balls of the boy’s feet did much to move him only letting out a pained huff at the action. 

  
Looking over from where he laid, Varian saw Ruddiger carefully lay an apple beside him before using his head to roll the treat towards him imploring him to eat. Varian didn’t really want to do anything he just wanted to lay on his bed and do nothing but seeing all the trouble his friend went to for him created a small fire within him. It was a small fire that spread throughout his body warming his very soul with great difficulty Varian sat up from his spot and grabbed the apple taking a large bite off it. Ruddiger chittered in happiness finally glad to see a spark in the alchemist's formerly hazy gaze.

  
That always seemed to make Varian willing to move at all seeing that determination his friend put into making him react to anything at all. Varian just couldn’t leave his friend hanging like that he had to show Ruddiger that he truly appreciated his efforts in getting him out of bed. Varian laughed petting the raccoon on his head, “Thanks buddy if your going to go through all this trouble for me then the least I can do is meet you halfway.”

  
Ruddiger rubbed himself on the sitting boy which only increased the warm feeling in his body, it suddenly wasn’t so hard to move anymore. “Come on Ruddiger let’s see what we can discover today.” It was times like this when Varian questioned himself on where he would be without Ruddiger.

* * *

  
Quirin worried about Varian ever since the boy’s mother was no longer in the picture it was a constant thought in the father's mind only for the thought to increase when Varian started his pursuit of alchemy. He couldn’t wrap his head around it and tried plenty of times to try to at least get an idea of what was going through his son’s head. Alchemy was beyond him though making him feel inadequate in being unable to understand his own sons’ passion. Other parents in the village didn’t seem to get it though while their children came to their parents asking for help to throw a ball his son came to him to show off his latest invention.

  
The village leader was impressed especially when his own son had the creativity and resourcefulness to make his own chores less time-consuming. Quirin knew he had a lot to be proud of when it came to his son, however one thing he could live without is his son's lack of foresight and obsessive tendencies. When Varian got an idea in his head it was almost impossible for anyone to make him drop the problem even worse the boy never knew when to call it quits. While Quirin could respect Varian’s ability to push through a problem the ideas his son gets to solve some problems leave a lot to be desired.

  
The man still couldn’t wrap his mind on the boilers how could his son not see the clear danger they posed? Those things were causing earthquakes and not once did his son think that something was wrong, Quirin would question his son if he didn’t attribute it to youth. Yet no matter how many times he tried talking to his son it only seemed to make him cause bigger explosions and larger property damage. He could only be glad the villagers of Old Corona were more forgiving than they let on about Varian’s antics.  
The villagers despite often being frustrated with Varian didn’t hate him they often times assumed that Varian was dealing with magic despite the boy’s protests. The rumor was a great deterrent when it came to keeping away undesirables as Old Corona was one of the more peaceful villages. It’s one of the reasons why the villagers were so forgiving rather than running him out it also didn’t hurt that Varian was always willing to fix the damage with little cost to them. Everyone was just waiting for the day until Varian got his head out of clouds. Quirin pitied them because that was likely never going to happen.

  
So, imagine his surprise when Varian seemed less motivated in experimenting or sneaking off to conduct those experiments. Quirin didn’t know when this sudden change in behavior started but he berated himself for not noticing sooner. When his son first slept through the day, he only assumed that finally, his son was falling into normal adolescent habits like sleeping in or avoiding chores. The father gave his son little trouble for that since it was better than Varian causing another accident. Then Varian seemed to not want to eat.

  
Quirin knew he wasn’t the best cook, in fact, Varian normally took care of all the housework including the cooking, but the man could at least make a sandwich. He made Varian’s favorite ham sandwiches only for the boy to barely take a bite from it by the seventh time that’s when Quirin grew worried. Even if it was just a phase there should have been no reason for Varian to be acting like this even the raccoon was looking worried at his son’s behavior. Quirin placed his half-eaten sandwich down, “Son are you alright?”   
Varian jumped as if he wasn’t expecting the question, “Oh, yeah I’m fine just you know thinking.”

  
To Quirin he didn’t look fine in the least Varian’s skin looked pale as death, he was barely eating, and he would oftentimes stare into space if given the chance. None of this was fine standing up Quirin kneeled by his son placing his gloved hands over the boy’s shoulders he was abnormally cold to the touch. “No Varian you’re not.”

  
Quirin then proceed to tell Varian was he saw happening at first Varian looked annoyed but as he continued to listen, he lowered his eyes to the ground in shame he didn’t think his behavior would have upset his father so much. After all, he gave little thought about the man as Quirin was mostly busy working the fields throughout the day. Varian should have known better than to think his father wouldn’t have noticed.

  
“Which is why,” Quirin said. “we are going to the village doctor to see if anything can be done about all of this. I’m worried son you should feel so cold, you shouldn’t be so pale, and you should be eating more.”

  
Varian felt himself heat up a little at his father’s words, he could feel the worry in them and the care. Looking down he met Ruddigers eyes who also looked at him imploring him to seek help for himself, he still didn’t understand to issue but if both were so worried about it then he might as well so as they asked. Varian knew that he didn’t always have the best track record of knowing what was best for himself if his failed experiments were any indication.

  
“All right dad,” Varian said, nodding something really did need to change and if both of them were worried then he would do it for them. 


End file.
